The frog secretions are a smorgasbord of peptides that so far appear to be unique in their combination, including dermorphine and deltorphine, two naturally occurring opioids. Dermorphine is at least 30 times stronger than morphine, and deltorphine has an unusually high blood-brain barrier rate of penetration.
It is quite possible that the same frog may be milked on different occasions if it responds to the hunters calls. People also report greater focus, reduced stress, a marked increase in mental and physical energy, and a consistently better mood. The effects of taking Kambo are purgative and unpleasant, but short-lived, lasting around 40 minutes at the most. Frog hunters call the frogs to them by mimicking the noise of its distinctive call, and the animal is taken back to a local area for milking. This bright green amphibian is found in tropical forests, preferring to sun itself by day in the canopy and descend to the forest floor at night looking for a mate. It also seems to use these secretions as a type of sunscreen, happily rubbing them all over itself.
WHAT DOES KAMBO TREAT?
Once the Kambo is applied to the skin, it kicks in almost instantly, as some of the bioactive peptides acutely increase the heart rate, causing you to feel really hot, followed by the nausea and purging for minutes. “It is a very vulnerable, sensitive, and intense experience,” Todd says of the Kambo ceremony. Read more about Kambo Training School here. “There can be physical releases as well as emotional releases,” he adds, noting that it is an excellent bonding experience for those who go through the ritual together. The bioactive peptides and molecules found in the Kambo excretion facilitates deep cleansing and detoxification of the blood cells, organs, and body. These benefits address infections, depression, blood circulation, chronic pain, and to boost the immune system. Kambo also acts as an intense detoxification process and helps clear the body of energy blockages and negative Panama (bad luck). Kambo is a South American Indigenous ritual that calls upon frog medicine — aka the poisonous secretion from the giant monkey frog — to detoxify the body through an intense cleansing experience.
The Effects Of Kambo
Kambo is made from the secretions of the giant monkey frog, (Phylllomedusa bicolor) which it makes when stressed. The secretion consists of a range of bioactive peptides and the potency means the body responds to it within minutes.
Once these effects begin to fade, the person will be given water or tea to help flush out the toxins and rehydrate. Once the shaman has collected the kambo, they aim to release the frog, relatively unharmed, back into the forest. He acknowledges that for most people, the purging and opioid-like symptoms of a cleanse are not a problem. There have been deaths—they are rare, but not zero,” Dr. Kuhn said. During the Kambo ritual, a shaman burns several superficial holes in the top layer of your skin. Typically, women are burned on their legs to promote fertility, while men are burned on their arms and chests to promote a successful hunt or virility, Dr. Kuhn said. Healers practicing in Australia were banned a few years ago according to media reports after a woman died of cardiac arrest during the ritual.